Days 20 and 21,Monday, 5th and Tuesday, 6th December, 2011

While I struggle with my life in Saudi Arabia, I am sure that in India, a lot of people are involved with the death anniversary (Mahaparinirvan diwas) of Dr. B.A. Ambedkar, and some with the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri mosque.

In a lifetime, one can have such diverse and educative experiences, and yet, more than 90% of humanity prefers to operate within their own comfort zones, or worse, live in the past. This creates a world of “No change”, and yet, we see change all around us. This could be ascribed to the working of God, but I prefer to credit the remaining 10% of humanity which tries to step out of the ordinary and does something they are not used to. We may label them as “adventurers” or “experimenters” or whatever, but it is their endeavour that rejuvenates humanity from the droll existence of the majority.

My attempt to come to Saudi should be interpreted in this light, and not merely an act of defeat or escape from reality. I crave the indulgence of my readers when I say that I have a three-fold interest in leaving India to come to this country

1.  To try and earn more money than I could ever manage to, in India
2.  To create, for my family back in India, an environment that will enable them to enjoy independence with responsibility and
3.  To try and appear for MRCPCH examinations and pass the three parts thereof so that I become an-U.K. certified pediatric person.

Bearing these in mind, I request you to judge me fairly and decide whether this is a good decision or not. My decision was hastened by the realisation that I would, with about three or four year’s stay in Saudi Arabia, be able to save enough to satisfy my desires to have a good amount of money to marry off both my daughters “in a fitting way”, (though some may accuse me of being a 'conformist', I do feel that society expects a doctor to marry his/her offspring in a manner that befits his/her status in the same society) and also, to be able to travel around the world without major financial constraints, something that I have always wanted to do.

Getting on to the topic of the blog entries for the two days mentioned in the title: well, these were routine days in the main; on Monday, the work had petered out a little, although I did see nearly a dozen patients in the OPD. I have a slow but reliable connection to the net from the pediatric OPD and I make full use of it whenever possible. I was able to write the blog entry for Sunday, surf Facebook and check my emails without much trouble. 

In the evening, I went out for a walk with Dr. Narendra Punjwani, who is a Surat-based Orthopedic surgeon working with me in Al Moweh. Getting to know Dr. Punjwani over Monday (when we went to some nearby shops to look for a few things I needed for the house) and Tuesday (when I went to his place for dinner and to spend time with him) was a pleasure. He is planning to leave Saudi next year. Fifty-nine years of age, Dr. Narendra has three offspring, and his family lives in India. His kitchen is well-stocked, as he returns to India twice a year and gets back spices etc. when he comes back to the Kingdom. He cooked rice and masoor for us. I did the "waghaar" and probably added more spices than what were needed. The dal came out a bit pungent, but we managed to clean out the vessel that the dal was stored in.


Afterward, we listened to and saw some videos of songs starring Dev Anand, and in our own way, we paid homage to this great Bollywood stalwart.

In other news, Dr. Narendra did not accompany me for the walk on Tuesday, because, according to him, Monday's walk had aggravated his back pain. As a result, I walked alone. In a way, that wasn't so bad, as I was able to dictate my own route and pace to myself without external interference or influence. 

Monday was Ashura for the Bohras, and I observed it by fasting for half a day. On Tuesday, I met the main director of the hospital (Mr. Raad Haart) momentarily for the first time. He seemed to be a cheerful and easy-going person. Let us hope that he is equally nice to me when I need his help to facilitate matters with the Muderiya in the days, months and years to come.


Another news that I want to share with the readers is that I have begun to pick up Arabic words and phrases while talking to patients. I have prepared a MS Word document and I keep adding words/phrases with their meanings to it from time to time. Initially, I used to think that the spoken Arabic is a crude, unpolished language more suited to nomads and tribal people, but slowly, its inherent beauty is becoming more and more apparent.